Eastern Plains
The Eastern Plains were a region of deforested plains and rolling hills in the east of the kingdom of Cormyr in interior Faerûn. The name "Eastern Plains" is only used once, in a section heading in Cormyr: The Tearing of the Weave, page 36. It might not be an official name for the area, but has been adopted for ease of discussion. It appears to be distinct from the "east reaches" used in Volo's Guide to Cormyr, which covers much more of eastern Cormyr, including the Eastern Plains. Geography The Eastern Plains were bordered on the west by the Wyvernflow and Wyvernwater and on the north by the Thunder River. To the northeast stood the Thunder Peaks, and below it to the east lay the Vast Swamp. In the south was the coast of the Dragonmere. Once forested, the denuded land comprised long stretches of low rolling hills covered in green grass. Hidden amidst these were sudden crevasses, quiet valleys and glens tangled with trees, rushing streams and clear pools of cold water. History As with all of Cormyr, the Forest Kingdom, the whole area was once covered in forest, as it was in the 7th century before Dalereckoning. However, over the course of centuries, logging, agriculture, and war had stripped away the trees and left only rolling plains. The land was apparently completely bare by 112 DR. The area remained unclaimed by great powers, however, until the kingdom of Cormyr made its inevitable expansion past the Wyvernwater. However, migration was slow and settlement was still continuing through the mid–14th century DR. In the 1360s DR, there was a concerted effort to clear the land of monsters to make it safe for human habitation. In the Year of Lightning Storms, 1374 DR, petitioners of the Temple of Mystra in Wheloon were ordered to cross the Eastern Plains on their way to the Vast Swamp. In early Eleint, adventurers in service to Mystra investigating activities at the temple followed their trail and put a halt to it. Government By the 14th century, the area was under the control of the kingdom of Cormyr. Inhabitants The folk of the southeast were known to be hardworking and honest, and as patriotic as any other Cormyrean. However, as close neighbors of Sembia and the Dragon Coast, they were no strangers to bribery, smuggling, and overlooking criminal activity, provided that no one seemed to be hurt by it. Because the Purple Dragons and War Wizards who defended the realm were often too far away, these people always looked out themselves and each other. Notable locations The Eastern Plains were ringed by the Hullack Trail in the north and west, and by the Way of the Manticore which cut through the south. A number of settlements lay around the fringes of the plains and along the roads, such as Thunderstone, Hultail, Juniril, Wheloon, Monksblade, and Battlerise. Some like Ghars stood alone in the middle of the plains, while others like Kirinwood were situated by the coast. The folds of the hills and the forested deeps concealed many unusual sites: * Dreamer's Rock * Golden Ruins * Tomb of Chonis * Unknown Shrine Appendix Notes References Category:Plains Category:Locations in Cormyr Category:Locations in Interior Faerûn Category:Locations in Faerûn Category:Locations on Toril Category:Locations